Information: Basic World Info

[Aurashka]

This board is based on Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' vampire novels, In the Forest of the Night, Demon in My View, Shattered Mirror, and Midnight Predator. In case you haven't read them, the administration here at Night's Omen have collaborated on this summary.  More thorough information may be found at The Den of Shadows, now with a new URL.

The world isn't all what it seems. Behind the facade of normality, there's a secret world hiding, noticed only by those aware of it. This world is a lot darker, and many who notice it by chance choose not to believe it, because it would shatter their belief in what's real. There are other creatures than humans out there, and they're all more powerful: stronger, faster, more powerful.

There are vampires, creatures with usually nocturnal habits who drink the blood of other creatures to survive. Unlike what myth would have you believe, most of them are quite able to walk in the sun, go to church and cross running water. They don't all turn into bats or wolves or mist, or have to be invited to get in.

There are shapeshifters (vie, and chai), people who look human enough, but who have the ability to take a second shape -- some of the more powerful and undiluted lines can even adapt to a halfway transformation, gaining some traits of their animal side while retaining mostly human shape. They're not vulnerable to silver, nor do they only transform during the full moon; in fact, there are only a few breeds that even feel the need to.

There are two kinds of witches; Triste and Macht. They're severely different from each other. While Macht witches are mortal (but like shapeshifters stronger and faster than humans), the Tristes are closer related to vampires. Tristes are far stronger than Macht witches and immortal, but they have to feed off of human energy to survive. Neither of those two can be distinguished from human if you have no power yourself, and even if you do, the Tristes can hide their nature from all but the strongest.

These four powers, called Nyeusi, together with those humans who are aware of this side of the world, tend to sort themselves into various factions: Midnight, Mayhem, SingleEarth or Bruja. Some won't, but unless you're powerful enough it can be outright dangerous to stand alone and without allies to count on.

Midnight was created by Jeshickah, and is a place where mostly vampires are served by slaves. Any Nyeusi who accepts their laws can own slaves, but only those immortal are completely protected against being sold into slavery. The only humans within this faction are, naturally enough, slaves or pets.  Near Midnight lies the town of Pyrige, which is mostly owned by Midnight vampires, but not controlled by them. To most humans, it's a town like every other, and they never know what goes on in the dark. Others know and wish they didn't.

Mayhem was founded by Silver's line, originally as a haven from the idiocy of humanity. Later, Silver's line started to get frustrated with Midnight, and Mayhem became a counter-point to it. It's now a bustling town, containing all needed for every-day life, and the current Mistress of Mayhem is Aurashka. These days, not only vampires live there, but other (non-Midnight) Nyeusi are welcome, as are humans -- with one stipulation. If a human learns about Nyeusi, they are no longer allowed to leave town.
Slaves are not allowed for Mayhem vampires, and should a Midnight vampire enter Mayhem with a slave, it'd be taken away or killed. It's considered bad form to harm Mayhem residents, and even within Ramsa it's best to be restrictive -- after all, you don't litter your own backyard.
Ramsa is a larger town next to Mayhem, a few hours' drive north-west of New York City. As with Pyrige, most people never know what's going on, and live their lives in the bliss of ignorance.

SingleEarth is a non-violent society -- founded by the Smoke line of Macht witches -- who wish nothing more than for all kinds of creatures to live in peace with each other. They offer support to those innocents who unexpectedly come into contact with the Nyeusi world, and safe havens to all where they can be open about their nature. In addition, SingleEarth provides medical assistance for shifters and witches, since their different physiology would be discovered in a human hospital.
They condemn no one, and rarely give up hope that people change for the better. Everyone is welcome at SingleEarth, even the founder of Midnight herself, as long as they abide by the rules there.

And finally, Bruja is a mercenary guild, composed of three sub-groups: Crimson, Onyx and Frost.   Each group has a different specialization, but any can be hired to take down a target, whether that target be human, innocent or neither. Individual hunters have their own morals of course, but you can almost always find one that will take your offer.
Membership in the guilds is not limited to humans; Nyeusi are just as welcome there, as long as they live by the few rules there are. In fact, Bruja itself came into being thanks to one vampire and two Triste. They have long since left, and very few even know who they are, let alone that they were involved in the first place.
Bruja exists in various places all over the world, but we've chosen only to represent that of New York.

In joining this board, you agree that you understand this situation, and any of the administrators will be more than willing to answer questions. Of course, numbers will be taken into consideration in how many of each race will be allowed, but of course, creativity is appreciated.